The Graveyard Book of Summers
by iBelieveInNarglez
Summary: There is a girl named Mag Summers who has lost her family. She has wandered for a week in search of them and instead finds a graveyard at the top of the hill. A boy named Bod is strange, yet her only friend. Will both their stories change with each other?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

She walked down the misty lane heading uphill in the small town. Her family has disappeared a week ago now, and the idea frightened her. Being only a girl of ten in the world alone left her scared of people. She wished she could dissolve and wait for her family in the shadows she passed. Spying her mother's long dark hair and paler skin with her younger sister's hand gripping hers as she skipped along. Sadness overwhelmed her and she finally stopped to look around her. The houses here have lost their lights and without the moonlight, it would be fairly dark but enough to slightly see. Ahead was a graveyard, one she never knew, but she kept walking up the street alongside the graveyard. A shadow moved beside her and a man stepped into view but walked parallel to her on the sidewalk. The girl moved farther into the street, and the man inched toward her in his pace. When he looked at her, she saw a face like her father's only it was bloody and scarred—the girl took off running with tears down her face to the graveyard.

She pulled on the gate, but the lock was shut tight. With a frustrated cry, she ran around the gate hoping to find another open. The man had stopped following her but his presence still remained in her mind. She didn't want her father to be dead, even if she guessed it to be true she knew she'd be right.

Another gate locked. She cursed the gate under her breath and went to run to find another gate when a face caught her attention. A boy. A boy about her age…in the graveyard? She turned and was certain there was a boy staring at her. She looked around for the man, then asked the boy, "Can you open the gate?" Her voice was fragile and a little pitched from the fright. The boy stood and walked toward her while holding something. She looked to her right and thought she saw a dark hat rising from the mist. "Hurry!" She begged the boy, and rushed through the gate when it was free from the lock. She hid behind the bush with her hand over her mouth to keep from sobbing, and the boy kneeled in front of her. The sound of crunching steps grew closer and then stopped. The girl held herself still, resisting the urge to push farther into the bush and closed her eyes tightly, wishing to be left alone and unseen. The boy stood still as a statue in front of her, studying her.

Finally the footsteps kept walking and soon the sound faded away into the misty night. She breathed deep and slow to calm her heart and looked at the boy. "Thank you. You helped me a great deal this night," raising her hand she announced, "I'm Mag." The boy took her hand and replied, "My name is Bod. Your welcome." She took note his hands were cold but she felt warmth which was relief to her. "Why are you out so late?" The boy asked, curiosity in his eyes shining as bright as the stars.

"I was in search of my family. They have been missing for some time now, and I haven't anywhere else to go." Mag stood and was feeling more comfortable with the boy named Bod. "Why are you sitting in the graveyard so late in the night?"

"I live here." Was all he replied. Mag didn't know what to say—could he be playing a game with her? "You look tired, would you like a drink of water?" Mag nodded. She hadn't eaten or taken a drink of anything for a week and it was wearing on her. She became conscious of her dress, once a pretty white, now darkened gray from the dirt and dust she found herself sleeping in each night. Mag followed the boy deeper into the graveyard to the small abandoned chapel. She felt people around them as they walked, but she found the thought ridiculous—these people were dead. He pushed the door open and stepped into the dark building. There was a candle lit inside and Mag followed Bod. "Have a sit anywhere, I'll be right back." Bod disappeared somewhere into the shadows and Mag sat. It had been a while since she last sat anywhere comfortable beside the ground. While she waited, she fingered the necklace her mother had given her for her recent birthday—a beautiful moon necklace that has been passed through the family women for generations. Because Mag was the oldest, she got the necklace which had upset her younger sister. A lump began to form in her throat—she missed them all so much. The boy Bod returned with a large glass of water and some bread. He sat beside her while she drank and nibbled on the bread.

"What kind of a name is Bod?" Mag asked. She wished she would have left the thought in her mind, but it came out faster than she thought it.

"It's short for Nobody. Nobody Owens is my name." He kept his gaze on her, "What is your full name?"

"I'm sorry, it was rude for me to ask your name like that. My name is Magdalene Summers." Mag yawned, but stopped when something was knocked to the floor in the shadows to their left. "What was that?" She asked, the fear seeping back into her.

"I need to talk with my guardian for a minute, I shall be right back." And Bod was off into the darkness again. Mag was thankful he left the candle with her and she kept nibbling the bread, suddenly losing her hunger. Bod returned with a tall, pale man behind him.

"Hello Miss." The man stood while Bod took his place to sit beside her. "Master Bod tells me you have been in a fright from a man outside the gate." Mag nodded, not knowing what to say. "You should be returning home, I'm certain your parents will be worried about you."

"They're—um.." Mag couldn't bring herself to say the words. Saying her parents were dead would make it official. She still hoped they would be running and screaming her name because they only left for the market late that night and ended at a relative's.

"Yes?" The man asked.

"They're missing. I have been searching for them for a week and I cannot find them." Mag's throat clenched in despair.

"What are their names?

"Mister Louis and Renee Summers."

The man looked at her with sad eyes, although his face was as hard as stone. Mag didn't want to know what he was going to tell her. Her hands had gone cold and she felt the tears welling in her eyes. "I believe your parents are dead, Miss Summers."

Mag didn't realize she had tears until one fell off her chin. Quickly, she wiped the stains from her face and nodded glumly. She knew it was true, but it left her chest heavy with the words said aloud. The man knelt in front of her and held his hand out to her. She took it lightly, without feeling.

"We will need to find a place for you to stay, but for now I guess we can keep you here for the night." He released her hand and patted it on her lap. The man turned to Bod who sat quietly this whole time, "Bod, I'd like you to entertain our guest whilst I fetch Mag here a bed." With that, the strange man left. Bod nodded and placed his hand on Mag's like the man did.

"Silas is really nice; I'm sorry what happened to your parents Mag." Bod inched closer to her. Mag could only nod, she didn't want to talk in fear the tears would come once more. Slowly, Bod stood and gestured Mag come with him and together they left the old chapel and headed further up the hill. Once at the top, Bod sat on the ground and Mag joined him. She looked around and was shocked by how much she could see. The whole town was displayed below them and the lights looked magical from this far up the hill. Stars twinkled overhead as the mist cleared and the moon glowed brighter. Mag smiled weakly, "My sister always loved the moonlight. I miss her the most, even though I did love my mother and father very much." Bod only nodded, not knowing what to really say to comfort her.

The man named Silas came up the hill and informed them it was time to sleep. The three of them walked back to the chapel in quiet, but Mag noticed nodding to something beside him the way back. Mag asked him about it and he replied, "I am bidding my friends goodnight, as the sun will be rising and they are heading to sleep too." Mag nodded, but was a little curious about these friends. Halfway to the chapel, Bod said goodnight to Silas and walked over to a tomb and went inside. Mag was dumbfounded and asked Silas why Bod went in there and not with them. Silas had said Bod lived there and that was his bed. Mag nodded and numbly followed Silas up into the chapel to a room off the main part that had a small candle burning on a table side next to the bed.

"You will sleep here, until we can find a proper place for you Mag. There is water in the pitcher on the dresser and the bathroom is right outside the door. Goodnight." And he was gone. Mag climbed into the bed, which was so soft it seemed to sink her into it. She pulled the covers up around her and fell into sleep quicker than ever before.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Mag awoke to the sun setting lower in the sky. Her mind tried to place where she was, but it was difficult to remember. She realized she was in a bed in a dark room that smelled of dust and mossy wood. A knock sounded somewhere around her and as she struggled to sit in the sinking bed, she called a welcome to the knocker.

A boy walked inside the room carrying a tray with food on it. Bod. The boy with the funny name who helped her from the nightmare outside the graveyard. The graveyard. Last night memories came back to her and she felt fear slowly rise through her: she slept in the middle of a graveyard and this might be the only night that she would be able to stay. Bod put the tray on the small table in the corner and lit a candle with a match he pulled from the old dresser drawer. "Good morning." Bod greeted happily. "I brought something for you to eat." He sat beside her on the bed and helped her climb from the bedding.

"That is very nice of you Bod." Replied Mag politely. She glanced over the food he brought: a few apples, a loaf of bread, a brick of cheese and a box of juice. A rumble came from her stomach and she realized it had been a whole week since she had really eaten anything other than scraps she found. Mag sat at the table and tried to eat everything politely as her parents taught her, but it was difficult not to scarf down the meal. "These apples are delicious!" She said around a mouthful. "I have never tasted anything better."

Bod nodded, "They come from a tree near the top of the graveyard. I like to go there to think sometimes and the apples are always perfect this time of season before winter comes." Mag hesitated. These apples came from the graveyard, where there were dead people being devoured by the roots of this tree that produced these apples. Suddenly, she didn't find the apples as appetizing as the bread.

They made small talk as Mag ate her small dinner. The owls sang outside the window and Bod opened it to hear the sounds outside better. The night air was getting colder, but it was still pleasant and cleaner than the air in the room a few minutes earlier. Mag felt comfortable around this boy with the funny name who lived in the graveyard. They played a small game Bod showed her where they would make shapes with their hands. He said strange words with each hand motion and she tried to repeat him, but had difficulty. It seemed they were of a different language or something. They laughed and giggled at the motions and words Mag made, since they were not as great as Bod's.

A shadow loomed in the doorway, and fear rose in Mag again. She grasped Bod's forearm tightly, afraid the man was going to get them both. Silas' face glowed dimly in the candle light and Mag relaxed her grip on Bod, but didn't want to let go. She remembered that he went off to see if she would be allowed to stay in the graveyard. "Magdalene Summers," SIlas said her name and she felt a chill run up her spine. "I have been around the graveyard in search of whether or not you would be able to stay here. You have no parents or household to return to, and there is no one else you are aware of who would be willing to house you until you reach adulthood." As he said each fact, it was slicing a piece off her. She felt the truth of his words and became worried once again. "The Council has agreed to have you stay for a time. We are not yet sure for how long that sentence is, but you may be assured that we will not force you into the streets with winter approaching." Silas bore a small smile on his lips and Bod grinned beside her.

"I-I can stay?" Mag asked, hardly believing her ears.

"Yes, you may. It might not be permanent, but we will have to see how it goes from here on. Tomorrow, there will be new clothes for you and other necessities that you will require. Enjoy your stay Mag. Bod will show you around and have you sit in during his classes." With a slight nod, Silas left Bod and Mag alone. She couldn't believe it. Bod jumped from the bed and began pulling Mag out towards the door. "Cmon Mag!" He cheered.

They walked along the graveyard wall and Bod pointed out spots to avoid, because of some witchcraft or something. There was a marsh on one side of the graveyard and Bod told her that she should never venture in alone, since it nearly drowned him the last time he went in there. Bod took her around the graveyard and even to the top where the tree grew the apples. Together, they climbed high in the tree and looked over the graveyard in the moonlight. It was like looking over a large city, but a city of tombstones and greenery. Here and there, Mag thought she saw a person but that wasn't possible. The person she thought she was was barely visible-she could see through them! That was silly, perhaps it was the height that was making her imagination run wild.

"Where do you have schooling this late at night?" Mag asked as they walked farther into the graveyard.

"I have schooling in the amphitheater with Mrs. Lupescu. When Silas would be gone for weeks or months, she would come and watch me and teach me lessons of varieties. But we must hurry, she is very punctual and dislikes when I arrive late." As they scaled down the stairs to the stage, Mag noticed an older lady waiting for them. She didn't look like a happy teacher, and her voice wasn't very pleasant like the other teachers' that Mag had during school.

Bod was right about the various schooling he learned. Mrs. Lupescu had been teaching him a language called Latin and more of the hand motions that he and Mag were playing with earlier in the night. She also quizzed him on various ghost-like creatures Mag didn't know and she grew distracted with the night around her as Bod learned. The amphitheater was in a spacious part of the graveyard, where there was more grass and plants than tombstones. A small stone path wound its way through the bushes and plants that grew wild in the area, and she became curious as to where it went.

A final glance behind her, and she took off quietly for the stone path. She looked in both directions that it ran and she decided to continue following it upward, where it seemed to climb away from the entrance of the graveyard. Mag took off her shoes and walked the path barefoot, enjoying the coolness of the stones and the warmth of the dark grass that grew between each stone. Soon, she found herself smiling into the night and decided to hop and skip to a rhythm she was creating with each step. The path wound up the hill back to the apple tree that overlooked the graveyard.

"I never want to leave." Mag said to the wind. She was startled by her own words, for they seemed so final and yet soothing. She hadn't felt as safe as she did now in a week, and she even made a new friend. Perhaps she could be happy here after all. Maybe she won't ever have to leave.


End file.
